Thursday, May 19, 2016

Cargo Cosmetics Land Down Under Eye Palette Review, Swatches

Cargo Cosmetics Land Down Under is the second eyeshadow palette I bought this year. Shocking, innit? I have a strict limit of six (ideally five) palettes this year, and, with seven months left, I might actually meet that target.
The moment I saw this on Cindy's blog, Prime Beauty, I knew I wanted it. For starters, it is Cargo and I always love the colour choices in their palettes. For another - Aussie theme! I made a bunch of Aussie friends at uni - whose sense of humour was the best - and we've had some amazing times together. Cargo has been doing location-themed palettes for a while now. We have seen Paris, Shanghai, NY, Venice, and now this.

Scroll down for the review and swatches of Cargo Cosmetics Land Down Under Eyeshadow Palette, and my EOTDs.

Packaging

I love the Sydney Opera House design and the sky-meets-sea colour scheme of the external box. However, the palette itself has minimal design. Surely, a Kookaburra or a 'Roo or something more Aussie than just off-white would have been better? Surfboards... the Ayers Rock... Shane Warne (or not LOL). Or even the Aussie flag. Why was it made just off-white? There is an embossed wavy pattern and very, very subtle holo but it still looks meh compared to the external box and previous Cargo palettes.

Inside, you have a full-sized eyeliner pencil and a dual-ended brush. I would have loved to see some Aussie theme on the inside background as well. People playing beach cricket.
There are 12 eyeshadows, of which six are matte, and six are shimmery. The shade names are Aussie-themed. I usually avoid palettes with vibrant shades alone. I also find
myself needing a break from just neutrals every few days. This palette
is an ideal mix of soft neutrals and three Summery pops of blue, green
and teal.

Formula, pigmentation and staying power

I have tried other Cargo palettes before and liked them, but this one has the best formula so far. Here are my reviews of Cargo's Venice Enchantment, Summer in the City and Let's Meet in Paris. The mattes are butter-soft. There is less fallout than previous Cargo palettes. Less dryness with the shimmers, too.
You'll see the pigmentation for yourself further below. I haven't noticed creasing after 10 hours BUT I wear primer all the time.

Swatches

Eye makeup looks

1: Joey, Koala and Ferry - all matte
2. Opera, Bondi, Beach - taken with flash. Not a fan of the blue look on me.
3. Opera, Bridge - Bridge looked brown at first but has khaki tones.

Verdict and where to buy

All good! Excellent pigmentation and texture; nice mix of neutrals with some pops of colour, all shades I can use, nothing too pale (YAY), Australian theme. They all blend beautifully. I have been reaching for this palette exclusively from the time it arrived, and I bet it makes my list of 2016 makeup favourites.
Since nitpicking is my middle name - and this is completely unrelated to the eyeshadows themselves - the palette could have come with a more Aussie design on the lid. I also wish they had included names such as Surf, Kookaburra, Cricket, G'day, Barbie, Ute or Richie in there rather than, say, Suntan and Sand. These are keystones in Australiana. They've said it is a beach theme, but then you shouldn't have Joey or Opera.
The palette costs $34. Buy on Beauty Bay here - international shipping f.r.e.e. Very few remaining in stock, so rush. US-based shoppers can pick it up from Ulta here.

About Renu X

Click here to know more about Renu and this blog.
Like this post? Share it to your social media using the share buttons above, and sign up to my free weekly email newsletter (no spam, I promise!) by clicking on the subscribe widget at the bottom of this page.